NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Titans released Rob Bironas, their kicker since 2005, on Wednesday, the team announced.

"We want to thank Rob for his nine years of service to the Titans. He has been an outstanding kicker and we appreciate him both for his contributions on the field and in our community," general manager Ruston Webster said in a statement.

Rob Bironas converted on 25 of 29 field goal attempts in 2013 but his touchback rate on kickoffs has sunk for three straight seasons.
Bironas was due a $250,000 roster bonus and a $2.875 million base salary in 2014, the second year of a two-year, $6.675 million contract.

He collected a $1.5 million signing bonus with that deal, so the Titans will carry a $750,000 cap charge for him in 2014.

The team is expected to replace him the same way it replaced Gary Anderson in 2005 -- by searching for a young player it can develop like it did when it found Bironas.

Assistant special teams coach Steve Hoffman helped develop Ryan Succop in Kansas City and Dan Carpenter in Miami. Carpenter is now in Buffalo.

Bironas hit 25 of 29 field goal attempts in 2013, but indications are the team doesn't feel his cost and production added up going forward.

His touchback rate on kickoffs has sunk for three years in a row, from 56.4 percent in 2011, to 50 percent in 2012, to 38.6 percent last season.

The Titans cut right tackle David Stewart earlier this month. With Stewart and Bironas gone, left tackle Michael Roos becomes the team's senior-most player, the last remaining Titan who joined the franchise in 2005.